Women's Basketball's Lippert Profiled by Harvard Gazette

In a refreshing twist, atypical of many Harvard students, Victoria
Lippert doesn’t have a plan for what to do after
graduation. “I don’t know,” she shrugs.
“I’ve been exploring that a lot lately, thinking about
possibilities.”

But the junior history and science concentrator isn’t the
least bit worried. There’s her soon-to-be historic basketball
career with the Crimson in which she’s poised to surpass the
1,000-point mark in one of her upcoming games — a feat that
Lippert was blithely unaware of. But in reaching that goal,
she’ll be only the sixth underclassmen and 16th player
overall to reach 1,000 points. “It’s kind of
cool,” Lippert says.

Lippert, who left sunny San Diego three years ago to take up
residence in chilly Cambridge, “hasn’t looked back
since.”

“I love Harvard,” she says. “And the snow was
marvelous the first time I saw it.”

When not racking up baskets as a forward for the Crimson, the
down-to-earth Lippert is involved with the campus Christian group
Athletes in Action. In the
summer of 2010 she traveled with the organization to Pretoria,
South Africa, where for a month the athletes worked to create a
tutoring program at a local school.

“It was a humbling experience, seeing the conditions
there, listening to the kids’ stories, and knowing they have
to deal with so much — disease, AIDS, poverty,” she
recalls. “I grew a lot from that trip; it was a really
powerful experience.”

As the Crimson head into the final games of their season,
Lippert’s versatility and scoring touch will be critical to
their success. “We really want an Ivy League championship
this year,” she says. “This group of girls is very
special. We have amazing chemistry off the court, which really
helps us on the court. Right now, we’re trying to bring
consistency to the competition. Anything can happen on any given
night. We have to have our game faces on.”

“Vic is exceptional in many regards, both on and off the
floor. First, she is an extremely talented, versatile player,
who has a passion for the game that is contagious,” says
Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “And one of her most
remarkable qualities is her unselfishness and will to
win. Even though she’s a tremendous scorer in many ways,
she puts the team first. She’ll do whatever it takes for the
team to win.”

And this determination will certainly aid her in whatever career
path she chooses, too. There is, of course, the possibility of
playing basketball overseas, but Lippert is considering an option
closer to home, too.

“I wrote a paper on the history of fingerprinting, and it
got me thinking about crime and crime-fighting technology,”
she says. “I’m considering something in law enforcement
or the intelligence community. But I’m just poking around
right now.”

There’s plenty of time to figure all that out, of course.
“I’m not afraid of change or adventure,” Lippert
says. “I’m generally pretty adaptable. I like exciting,
new possibilities.”